


Promises

by Adane_beinleumi



Category: Naruto
Genre: F/M, Kakashi is being a decent sempai, Kakashi’s Anbu team, pre-slash Kakashi/Tenzo, slight AU to Chunin exam arc
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-14
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-03-15 03:48:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,261
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29429817
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Adane_beinleumi/pseuds/Adane_beinleumi
Summary: Promises given and taken, vows of fealty fulfilled and renewed, and war is upon us.
Relationships: Gekkou Hayate/Uzuki Yuugao, Hatake Kakashi & Uzuki Yuugao, Hatake Kakashi/Yamato | Tenzou
Kudos: 8





	Promises

**Author's Note:**

> Nodachi – a “field-sword” which is longer than katana and usually worn on the back due to its length.

“Thank you, senpai.”

Kakashi slowly moves out of the cover of trees, sighing. He hasn’t made the slightest effort to hide his presence so that was predictable. Neither could he have been able to properly hide from the best sensor he has ever met and who knows his chakra profile too well in the first place. While en route on missions they belonged behind his shoulders, Yugao – behind the right, Tenzo – behind the left. If there’s anything he does miss from those times, it’s definitely this feeling.

“Stop calling me senpai. I shouldn’t be an exemplar for anyone.”

“I’m not asking for your permission, senpai,” Yugao turns, pale skin grayish in the orange sunset light, dark patches under the sparkless eyes. “And you have already been, for longer than you know.”

In Yugao’s outstretched hand rests a familiar nodachi in leaden scabbard twined with dark scarlet cord. In piercing light of the rapidly falling sun, black stains on the lacquered wood are almost invisible.

“I’m glad you… had some time together.”

Yugao doesn’t respond, only a blade clinks in the scabbard when she lowers her hand and looks him in the eye. 

“I found him.”

“Did you have an assignment?”

“Of course not,” Yugao grins. “Did you when you came back for someone who’s above all else allowed to call you senpai?”

Kakashi only sighs heavily, and Yugao’s face breaks down, sharp shatters of composure slowly cracking and pain glowing from within. It’s an old argument they can’t help having again and again, with him choosing to stay silent and her choosing to go meet the waiting hand. She and Hayate had some time together indeed but Hayate is now dead while Tenzo is still alive. Was it worth it?

Yugao bites her lip and throws back her head to look into the mazarine sky.

“It’s Baku, a jonin from Suna. Came with his genin team to participate in the exam.”

“Why?”

“Kazekage’s chakra profile isn’t right. I guess Gekko spotted something possible to prove.”

Silence falls upon them as wind whispers in the trees around the black monument with the names of the fallen. Yugao’s purple hair turns almost black in the shadows crawling from under the knotty roots, and Kakashi moves a bit closer, just for her to feel all the little noises his breathing body creates, all the steady warmth he’s still generating, a half-burnt match in the coolish air. It’s been a long way.

“He was kind,” she says absentmindedly, shrilling in the wind. “Seldom did he laugh but when he did it was a pure deep sound plunking like stings… He loved white tea, history books, and early spring leaves.”

“And you.”

“He never asked me to quit Anbu, not a single time,” Yugao continues as if she hasn’t noticed his words, but sparkles are slowly filling her eyes. “I remember how inspired his voice was when he talked about swords and blades…”

I remember Genma’s pins on how moony he started to be after you two met and Asuma chuckling when he saw him smiling, Inoichi and Shikaku exchanging glares when they noticed your purple hair near Hokage’s tower, thinks Kakashi, I remember Genma’s needles and Asuma’s teapots appearing just everywhere around me when I signed into Anbu, and Raidou gave me a sword suited to my teenager's hand when I broke my tanto on the mission, and Tenzo belonged right behind my shoulder. Kakashi blinks hard. Was it worth it? 

He stands and watches the scarlet cord curling in the uprising wind. It’s getting cold. The evening glitter is almost gone, and Yugao’s face is dead serious when she casts her eyes up to meet his sooty gaze.

“Don’t you lose him.”

Kakashi looks away. He can understand a pure wish to see someone happy instead – but he can’t comply.

“I can’t make this promise.”

Pale face gets covered by a smooth porcelain mask.

“Don’t you lose him, sempai,” her voice rings deep and strong and suddenly overwhelming. “No matter what you decide on me, go report me if you must but don’t you lose him.”

One more brisk wind breath and Kakashi puts his hand on the trembling slender shoulder as cold as stone, squeezes gently, holds up until she looks him in the face once again.

“I won’t, kohai.”

***

Baku notices that something isn’t going as planned a little bit too late. He knew he was taking a grave risk killing Konoha shinobi right in the center of Konoha, but he did double-check. He left no clues except a sword that was too heavy to destroy swiftly. But there’s only a single shinobi opposing him now, so maybe he just should be even more careful. Only for a single more day, he should be keeping this secret.

It’s going to be even simpler given the kunoichi is standing still, sword low in her hand. Oh, it’s still in scabbard, smirks Baku, releasing a bunch of kunai into his completely stationary aim. With thin clinks, they all fall but it wasn’t the kunoichi who defended herself. A blatant blow comes right on the head, and Baku trying and failing to parry notices a black blade. Another swordsman? 

His body gets stilled, and he can’t move a limb. Night streets are no longer visible, obstructed by the mumblings of his brief infrequent conversations with Orochimaru as if someone was turning his memories like pages in the book. 

“You were right,” a muttered unfamiliar voice says, as Baku keeps twisting out. “It’s Orochimaru.”

With a blink, his eyesight clears. He’s no longer alone. In a wide circle around him stand shinobi – a swordsman with a black blade, a blonde in a green cape, an absurd cat mask fleers to his left, an examiner with a senbon he remembers around the Hokage to his right. Right in front of him, looking him in the eyes stands kunoichi, scabbard in her left hand, a sword – in the right. From behind her deep purple hair glows a red iris of a Sharingan. She takes a step forward, flashes a crescent of a long nodachi blade, and the world falls apart in pain.

Yugao drags the sword back and follows a falling body, piercing the nose bridge with all her strength, just to be sure – he’s dead. As the skull cracks under the weight of the heavy sword, she allows herself to soak in the feel of the fresh blood flowing down the blade that turned out to be her only legacy. Sand is in her eyes, grey is the early night, bitter are her lips under the porcelain mask. 

“Inoichi, would you report?”

He nods and leaves with Shikaku watching his back. The information from Baku’s head is now their best evidence that Orochimaru has fooled Suna and an assault is imminent.

“He loved white tea and history books, and young spring leaves,” says Yugao, voice high and bleeding out. “And you all.”

Raidou locks a hand on her shoulder, exchanges gaze with Genma whose fingers are around her elbow. They probably knew Hayate the longest, Raidou being his swordsman-sempai, thinks Kakashi stepping closer. Tenzo covers her wrist still carrying the sword with both his hands, holding it like the last kunai in the lost fight. Baku’s warm blood runs down the cobbles, reaches Kakashi’s feet.

“Don’t lose each other,” says Kakashi passing a firm gaze around a circle of old friends until he looks right into familiar black eyes behind the cat porcelain mask and shivers under their cautious touch.

In half an hour a war begins.

**Author's Note:**

> Some of Yugao’s words from the first dialogue are a direct quote from somewhere else, purposefully put here. A bag of cookies to the one who guesses from where.


End file.
